We took off with an overcast morning, and found a little rain near Grafton, Il. It didnt last long and we worked our way up to Lock 25. We got right through, because the river is in flood again. I have the best of luck. Unlike the lower portion below St Louis, we have been able to make 5mph without running harder than normal. We can live with that. We made a new AC anchorage at Jim Crow Island, just upstream of Lock 25. Very peaceful night on the hook!
Sunday took us to 2 Rivers marina, across from Louisiana, MO. Amy's parents got to see the railroad swing bridge open for us to pass. Their first 2 locks have been un-evenful with the dams wide open. We raise 6-8 inches in the locks. We expect the same the entire trip except for Keokuk, IA. We will have a good lift there.
We got to visit with Clay and Sally Logan, formerly of SaSea Sally. They did the loop in 2015 if memory serves. I met them on my Mississippi trip in 2018 on the 27' cruiser. It was great to see them again. They have sold SaSea Sally, but still have their Pluckebaum houseboat.
Monday July 1 sees us bound for Quincy, Il. We are aiming for the riverfront Quincy Boat Club for the night on Clay's recommendation.
Monday has brought us some increased current and an increase in debris, but still moving right along. Lock 21 an Quincy, IL gave us a heads up that high water was going to force some locks closed upstream. After we got settled at Quincy Boat Club's transient dock, I made some calls. Lock 20, next one is expecting to close on the 4th. As well is 18. 16 and 17 are closing tomorrow. Given the conditions, and more rain coming, we are moving on tomorrow for Keokuk Yacht Club, on the other side of lock 19. That pool is behind the only hydro dam on the Mississippi and will be a maintained pool. Best place to hole up for a few days geographically, plus KYC is well know to be a very friendly stop for folks passing through.
Tuesday brought again increased debris and current. We made it through Lock 20 just ahead of a downbound towboat. Debris increased again on the top side of 20. We slowly made our way up approaching Keokuk. The Des Moines river empties in just below lock 19. Current kept increasing as we approached because of that flow. Amy's parents finally got to experience a more normal lockage at Lock 19. So far we have had 6" lifts and just floated. In 19 we actually had a 25 ft lift and secured to a floating pin.
After clearing the lock we had a mere 1.5 miles to the yacht club. Winds were substantial from the south, making our approach to the wall to tie up challenging. Toscana, as most boats tends to want to turn broadside to the wind. So approaching and maintaining straight into the wind both can prove difficult at times. We finally got tied up, and made arrangements for an extended stay. We will tell you all about this great place next week!
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